Torture claims 'forced US to cut terror charges'

"The Bush administration decided not to charge Jose Padilla with planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a United States city because the evidence against him was extracted using torture on members of al-Qaeda, it was claimed on Thursday."

"Padilla, a US citizen who had been held for more than three years as an "enemy combatant" in a military prison in North Carolina, was indicted on Tuesday on the lesser charges of supporting terrorism abroad. After his arrest in 2002 the Brooklyn-born Muslim convert was also accused by the administration of planning to blow up apartment blocks in New York using natural gas."

"Thursday's New York Times, quoting unnamed current and former government officials, said the main evidence of Padilla's involvement in the plots against US cities had come from two captured al-Qaeda leaders, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, believed to be the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and Abu Zubaydah, a leading al-Qaeda recruiter. But the officials told the newspaper Padilla could not be charged with the bomb plots because neither of the al-Qaeda leaders could be used as witnesses as they had been subjected to harsh questioning and could open up charges from defence lawyers that their earlier statements resulted from torture."

Hmm, if those unnamed sources can be trusted, then this just might be one of the reasons why the administration feels it so necessary to be able to hold people without charges or counsel, indefinately. They know torture evidence is not legitimate and won't stand up in the light of day. This is why they pushed so hard for military tribunals for non-citizen 'suspects'. Those tribunals would be nothing more than secret kangaroo courts (remember that term?) where the outcome would be pre-determind, as guilty, of course.

You know, a lot has been said about our using torture, but nothing's been said about the torturers. The more torturing we do, the more torturers we'll have. These are American citizens. These are people from our society, who at some point, will return to it, and bring their experiences back with them. We all hear about how hard it is for some returning vets to reintegrate into society after going through the hell of war, killing those who are shooting at them. How hard will it be for those whose job it is to inflict pain and suffering on those who no longer have the ability to fight? While I'm sure a lot of sadistic personalities will rise to the position, the more universal the practice, the more of them will be needed, but many will not naturally possess that sadistic quality. They may, in the fever of the 'crusade', believe they're doing a just service for their country, but in time, it will have a detrimental affect on their psyche, and they'll bring it home with them. Will they, as well as the ones naturally inclined to sadism, be able to 'turn it off' after they return and try to lead normal lives again?

....But then, I wonder, just how many tortures do we already have?